Off the wire
• S. Sudan rebels claim capture of refinery, demand evacuation at nearby key oilfields  • Around 300 Kazakhstan's citizens are involved in international terrorist organizations: official  • Africa Focus: Insurers in East Africa urged for merging to beat competition  • U.S. stocks little changed at midday after record run  • Bamboo-eating giant pandas not adept at digesting bamboo: study  • 2nd LD: At least 9 killed in NE Nigeria suicide bomb attack  • Chinese warship participates in IMDEX Asia 2015  • 1st LD: At least 9 killed in NE Nigeria suicide bomb attack: witnesses  • S. Africa to commence nuclear procurement process  • Pakistan concerns about death sentence for ex-Egyptian President Morsi  
You are here: 　 Home

Feature: Chinese language study gains trends in Namibia

Xinhua, May 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

Little did Catherine Muthoga know her decision to attend pre-competition of "Chinese Bridge" was going to get her one day to visit Beijing.

Muthoga's confidence and charisma saw her and a classmate walk away with air tickets to go and compete at the semi-finals and finals in Beijing. The student enrolled at the Confucius Institute (CI) at the University of Namibia told Xinhua in a interview that she study Chinese because of her interest for different cultures.

Catherine has been studying Chinese for just a few months but the expertise and knowledge she demonstrated at the competition was extraordinary.

"I have only been studying Chinese for a couple of months, I am very surprised and honoured," she said.

The Chinese embassy in Namibia in collaboration with the CI held on Monday a pre-competition of "Chinese Bridge" which was launched in 2002, and this annual event has been held 14 times around the world and attracted more than 1,000 college students from over 80 countries.

For the competition, students were required to read out a poem to show their Chinese language proficiency, answer quizzes so as to showcase their knowledge about China and either sing, dance or play an instrument.

The judges were chosen according to their level of understanding of the Chinese language and culture.

The competition comprised of 10 students who had managed to excel above the rest this year.

Muthoga said learning languages is something that has become very crucial in this new world where different cultures intertwine and businesses cross borders.

Different learning institutions around Africa and the world have made it part of their curriculum and have introduced different languages.

As no exception, the University of Namibia embarked on such a programme with establishment of a CI in it which has witnessed more and more students learning Chinese.

The institute was established in July 2013 and has an enrolment of about 46 students now.

The Chinese director at the institute Zhang Sufang says that Namibians are showing a keen interest in Chinese culture as the numbers of students enrolling is growing gradually.

The Vice chancellor at the university Lazarus Hangula said that the expertise shown by the students shows the significance of the programme.

He also emphasized how it has become an important platform for international college students to learn the Chinese language and help them understand more about China.

Other students who did not manage to win said that they decided to study Chinese as a language so that one day they can teach Chinese in Namibia. Endi